Phantom Blade Zero controls are small: on PlayStation 5 you need one button for block and parry, one for dodge, one for the Phantom Edge, one for Power Surge and a weapon switch — everything else is situational. On PC the same actions sit on the keyboard and mouse, and difficulty settings do not change the mappings.

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Phantom Blade Zero controls on PlayStation 5

ActionButton

Light attack

Square

Heavy attack / Sha Chi attack

Triangle

Block (hold) and parry (tap)

L1

Dodge

R1

Use the equipped Phantom Edge

R2

Power Surge

L2

Lock-on

R3

Jump

X

Interact

Circle

Switch primary weapon

D-pad Left

Switching primary weapon with D-pad Left also restores Sha Chi to full, so the weapon button is a resource button as much as a loadout button.

PC keyboard and mouse layout

ActionBinding

Move

W A S D

Light attack

Left Mouse

Heavy attack / Sha Chi attack

Right Mouse

Block (hold) and parry (tap)

Q

Dodge

E, and Space

Power Surge

F

Use the equipped Phantom Edge

R

Lock-on

Middle Mouse

Switch primary weapon

1 and 2

Crouch

C

Toggle walk and run

Alt

Open the map

M

Drink the lower and upper potion slots

R and T

A few of these bindings double up because the same key is reused in different contexts. F is Power Surge in a fight and interact when an interact prompt is on screen, and R is the Phantom Edge in combat and the lower potion slot in the field. Dodge is bound to both E and Space, so either works. PC rebinding is supported, and both a PlayStation 5 controller and keyboard and mouse work on PC.

The one button that blocks or parries

L1 — Q on PC — is both your block and your parry, and that is the single most important thing to internalize. Holding it puts Soul in a guard stance that deflects many incoming attacks but bleeds Sha Chi the whole time. Tapping it at the exact moment a strike lands is a perfect parry: free, and it turns the attack back on the attacker.

The input does not change once you know it, so the timing is the whole skill. What each defense costs and what a successful parry returns is covered on how parrying works.

Super armor buttons and the escape option

L2 — F on PC — is Power Surge, the weapon ultimate. R2 — R on PC — uses the equipped Phantom Edge. Both of those, plus performing an Execution on a broken enemy, are the only three actions in the game that grant full-duration super armor and restore a large amount of Sha Chi.

They are not damage buttons first. They are the escape when three or more enemies close in at once, which is exactly the situation where holding block would empty your Sha Chi and leave you unable to parry the next Brutal Move. Power Surge and Sha Chi Essence explains how to charge it.

Phantom Blade Zero Parry: Block, Perfect Timing, and CostThe Phantom Blade Zero parry and block share one input and are opposites in cost.Phantom Blade Zero Power Surge: Ultimates With Super ArmorThe Phantom Blade Zero Power Surge is your weapon's ultimate, and it is one of exactly three actions in the game that grant full-duration super armor.Phantom Blade Zero Beginner Guide: What to Learn FirstThe first thing this Phantom Blade Zero beginner guide should give you is the color read.Phantom Blade Zero System Requirements: PC Specs by TierThe Phantom Blade Zero system requirements cover four PC spec tiers, and every one of them requires a solid-state drive and DirectX 12.